Rainbow Station opening second school in China

Print this pageBy Veronica Garabelli The entrance of Rainbow Station's school in Foshan’s Shunde District.

Rainbow Station is expanding its presence in China. The Henrico County-based company is adding a second school in Foshan’s Shunde District, about 80 miles from its first location in Shenzhen.

Classes are set to start Monday at the 4,600-square-foot school that is located inside a shopping mall. As of Thursday there were six children enrolled at the new location, which will have a maximum enrollment of 350 students.

“The kindergarten will be similar to our U.S. option and will include a full day of school as well as an afterschool and camp option in the summer,” Gail Johnson, Rainbow Station’s president, CEO and founder, said in an email.

In the U.S., Rainbow Station offerings include nursery, preschool, kindergarten and after-school programs. The company has eight franchises in the U.S. and plans to expand abroad through franchising. Johnson says the company’s goal is to add a school in a new country each year. In China, Rainbow Station aims to open 110 schools within five years. The company also is set to debut in Jakarta, Indonesia, later this year.

Rainbow Station China’s CEO Paul Pan says the company has received an “extremely positive” response in China. “Our first school in Shenzhen is continuing to grow at a remarkable rate with 250 children enrolled,” he said in an email. “With the opening of our second school, we expect to have a very similar welcoming in Shunde.”